when I hear them used a part of my brain rolls its eyes and thinks, "yes, I read those books in 8th grade too. You're not especially cultured for knowing them." Does anyone else feel this way, or am I crazy?

Yes yes yes. It is incredibly pretentious. Harper is the frigging worst IMO. It just makes you look like a completely bourgeois, pseudointellectual @sshat. Unless, perhaps, you actually are a lit scholar or something. But in that case, I bet you can come up with something better than Harper!

“And remember, my sentimental friend, that a heart is not judged by how much you love, but by how much you are loved by others.” L. Frank Baum, The Wizard of Oz

Yes yes yes. It is incredibly pretentious. Harper is the frigging worst IMO. It just makes you look like a completely bourgeois, pseudointellectual @sshat. Unless, perhaps, you actually are a lit scholar or something. But in that case, I bet you can come up with something better than Harper!

But what if they just genuinely liked Harper? I like Atticus and I haven't read 'To Kill a Mockingbird'

I suppose I do sort of see what you mean though. Like, if someone named their kid Harper I wouldn't immediately think 'HarperLee' but if I met a child named Rowling, I probably would think it was a little pretentious : /

In conclusion, character names that are names anyway (exc. Katniss, Elphaba etc) sure why not but author names? Pretentious.

Well, you have to remember, this is your first introduction to REAL literature. As a young person, you hit a certain age, a certain reading level, a certain maturity, and you are exposed to something more than Magic Tree House. Something deeper and more striking. The first introduction to anything is going to have that kind of an impact, too; an initial wonder, a beginner's love. Atticus is your first true unsung hero, Bradbury your gateway into the mysteries of sci-fi. Darcy is the first character you ever underestimated, and Austen is the first author you had to read three times to pick up all of her subtle little jokes and social ploys.

Everyone has some attachment to it. There's a reason these books are so popular; it's because they're good. Everyone's read them because everyone should, and they have an impact on everyone because they are impacting. They aren't trying to be pretentious or look cultured; they're trying to reflect a certain standard, a certain love. Just like people name their children after movie stars and musicians, it's because of how they perceive that person more than how they want their child to be perceived, or themselves to be perceived.

Heh, yeah I agree! I love literary names, too, but, you're right, they're pretentious. It's like the parent is trying to say "look how cultured I am". I know most parents who choose literary names probably do so simply because they love the name and it's meaningful to them, but those connotations are there for me.